Capsula endoscopica: come cambia la conoscenza dell'intestino

Milan, November 15 (askanews) - Over one hundred doctors attended the Annual Video Capsule Endoscopy Meeting (RAVE) in San Donato Milanese, sponsored by Medtronic, to discuss one of the most important non-invasive diagnostic tools for studying the digestive system. "Video capsule endoscopy is a highly effective clinical tool, studied clinically for about 20 years," Dr. Marco Pennazio of the University Gastroenterology Department at the Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital in Turin told askanews. "We have consolidated evidence for several pathologies with a significant social impact, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn's disease, refractory celiac disease, and small bowel tumors. We are still in the early stages, but numerous studies document how in the future we could use this diagnostic tool, including leveraging artificial intelligence, which allows us to achieve faster diagnoses." The endoscopic video capsule is disposable, ingestible, and equipped with one or two cameras that acquire images of the intestine, providing doctors with crucial information, including for treating tumors. "We have rewritten the chapter on small bowel diseases by truly seeing them," said Renato Cannizzaro, professor of Gastroenterology in Trieste and director of the Gastroenterology Oncology Unit in Aviano, "not just on the operating table or in the grayscale of radiology. We found early tumors, and the surgery was curative and saved our patients' lives. The approach the capsule gave us in evaluating the small bowel has provided a survival advantage." But the capsule also has applications in other pathologies. "In patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease," explained Carlo Calabrese, professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Bologna, "it is particularly important because it has allowed us to fully study the extent of the disease, especially in Crohn's disease, which primarily affects young people but can affect the entire body from mouth to anus. This provides us with information on how the mucosa is affected by the disease, allowing us to better target the various medications available." In Italy, however, despite this evidence, it is still underused, due to the lack of uniform legislation regulating its use. "There are regions that reimburse it, where it is used on an outpatient basis," added Cannizzaro, "and there are regions that do not reimburse it, requiring hospitalization. However, the capsule is part of the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), and I believe in this and hope that the regions will embrace the possibility of implementing an outpatient capsule." The inclusion in the LEA, dated 2017, should allow for uniform pricing across the entire national territory, but to date this has not yet happened.